1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to methods for preserving lean body mass and maintaining higher energy expenditure during weight loss and particularly to methods for using feeding patterns for for promoting weight loss while preserving lean body mass and maintaining higher energy expenditure.
2. Description of Related Art
When managing an animal's weight, particularly promoting weight loss, it is a very common practice to reduce caloric intake by restricting the amount of food available to the animal on a chronic and daily basis. Generally, restricting daily food intake chronically causes the animal to be hungry. Hunger is an unpleasant state that often causes one or more unwanted behaviors by the hungry animal, e.g., begging, seeking food, binge eating, and the like. In addition, managing weight loss by chronic and daily caloric reduction may cause undesirable results that affect body composition. Animals that lose weight often lose both fat body mass and lean body mass and reduce their daily energy expenditure. Reduced daily energy expenditure caused by chronic daily caloric reduction during weight loss makes animals to regain their lost weight easily and makes it very difficult for the animals to maintain their ideal body weight after weight loss. Therefore, it is frequently more desirable when losing weight to lose excess fat body mass while preserving as much lean body mass as possible and maintaining higher daily energy expenditure.
Methods for managing weight loss and body mass are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,158,683 discloses using extracts of aronia to promote weight loss. U.S. Pat. No. 8,143,215 discloses promoting weight loss by applying satiety-enhancing or appetite-suppressing composition comprising tastant onto food. U.S. Pat. No. 7,989,009 discloses a method for promoting weight loss using black tea extract, white tea extract, guarana extract, oolong tea extract, green mate extract, thiamine, choline and N-acetylcysteine. U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,291 discloses a process for promoting weight loss in overweight dogs using L-carnitine. U.S. Pat. No. 7,744,930 discloses compositions, methods and kits for enhancing weight loss while inhibiting loss of lean body mass that use soy protein and chromium in form of salt or chelate. US20040077556A1 discloses methods for promoting weight loss and lean muscle mass using epigallocatechin gallate, caffeine, and 1-tyrosine. U.S. Pat. No. 7,850,997 discloses methods of enhancing lean body mass and exercise performance using L-arginine alpha amino n-butyrate. U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,596 discloses a method for using forskohlin for promoting lean body mass and treating mood disorders. US20070082026A1 discloses methods for reducing caloric intake and controlling weight using dietary fiber. U.S. Pat. No. 8,226,973 discloses using isoflavones for reducing accumulation of body fat in male mammals. US20110281245A1 discloses a system for regulating caloric intake by managing food dishes. U20100109876A1 discloses devices, systems, and methods for controlling caloric intake by modifying consumer behavior. US20030072846A1 discloses packages useful for controlling dietary caloric intake. US20100126588A1 discloses a programmed intermittent automatic watering system for animals.
These methods are often at least partially effective for managing weight loss and/or lean body mass and related conditions. However, these methods may still result in reduced daily expenditure, and hunger and its undesirable behavioral side effects. There is, therefore, a need for new methods for promoting weight loss, particularly while preserving lean body mass and maintaining higher energy expenditure, that avoid, at least in part, the undesirable behaviors and reduced daily energy expenditure associated with weight loss achieved by reducing daily caloric intake chronically.